HB 1794 Texas House · 89th Legislature (2025)

Relating to the carrying of concealed handguns by handgun license holders on the premises of certain polling places on the day of an election or while early voting is in progress.

HB 1794 amends Texas law to permit licensed handgun carriers to carry concealed handguns on polling place premises during elections or early voting. It specifically allows holders of valid concealed handgun licenses (CHL) to possess only a concealed handgun at these locations, provided no other weapons are carried. The bill removes the current prohibition against concealed weapons at polling places for CHL holders, aligning with existing exceptions for other locations like schools. This change directly affects licensed handgun carriers participating in elections but does not permit open carry or other weapons. The amendment modifies Section 46.03(a)(2) of the Penal Code to create this specific exception.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
Governor
Introduced Mar 14, 2025 Last action May 19, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Engrossed · 3 edits · May 13, 2025
MINOR
The bill text was reformatted and cleaned up to remove extraneous metadata and duplicate content, while the substantive policy language regarding concealed handgun restrictions at polling places remains unchanged. The core provisions prohibiting firearms at polling places during elections and early voting periods are preserved in the same locations as before.
TECHNICAL

Removed duplicate bill header information and metadata that appeared in the original introduced version

Reorganized the bill text structure to eliminate redundant sections and improve readability

Added a note about digital content accessibility updates that is not part of the legislative text itself

Floor votes · House May 12, 2025

How they voted

8751
Passed · 6 other
Total votes 144
May 12, 2025
D Democratic58
5 Yea 50 Nay 3
86% Nay
R Republican86
82 Yea 1 Nay 3
95% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
28
Key actions
7
Committee
7
May 19, 2025
Committee
Referred to State Affairs
upper
May 19, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
upper
May 14, 2025
Introduced
Received from the House
upper
May 13, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed
lower
May 12, 2025
Lower · Passed
Passed to engrossment
lower
May 6, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report sent to Calendars
lower
May 5, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee report distributed
lower
Apr 30, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably as substituted
lower
Apr 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Left pending in committee
lower
Apr 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Testimony taken/registration(s) recorded in committee
lower
Mar 14, 2025
Committee
Referred to Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs
lower
Mar 14, 2025
Introduced
Read first time
lower
2 primary · 10 co-sponsors

Sponsors